EMERGENCY IN PAKISTAN.
Was US not consulted by Gen. Pervez Musharraf before introducing emergency rule in Pakistan on Saturday last? I doubt. There is nothing in this world especially in the third world and in Europe happening without the green signal from the White House. In 1990, 2nd August, according to information available, US had full prior knowledge that Iraq is marching towards Kuwait and even US gave silent nod for Saddam to move in his troops towards Kuwait. “Never an appeasement to the dictator because a dictator is a dictator” said Margaret Thatcher. However good the rule of Musharraf may be in Pakistan but he trampled under his feet all the democratic rules and usurped power with brute force. As a lover of democracy I condemn Gen. Musharraf for introducing emergency rule in Pakistan. Why Musharraf only? For that matter I condemn every ruler who usurps power thru bullet and not thru ballot. And introducing of martial law is the worst thing one can do. I pledge my total solidarity with all the Pakistanis who are opposing emergency rule in Pakistan. It is disgusting to see Musharraf's police treating so badly the agitating lawyers against the emergency rule. If civilised, decent and educated people do not oppose the barbarity of Gen. Musharraf then who will do this?
In the past, in June 1995 I know how India with its strong democratic base suffered a severe blow to its progress because Indira Gandhi the then Premier of India introduced emergency rule and shut all the doors of democratic process. Press was choked and media was harassed, intelligencia was suppressed leading to the arrest of top democratic minded leaders including the colleague of her father Jeyprakash Narayan – a Ghandian himself. History repeats itself and it is repeated in Pakistan, a neighbouring country to India. During those days of 19 months of emergency rule in India a full blooded bustling Indian was converted into a pale docile person, his movement was sniffed by sniffing dogs and even his thoughts were arrested to think freely. His human attributes were extracted from his body and mind. He was made to believe that he was a sub human being. This is the result of emergency rule and martial law.
Gen. Musharraf is also on way to imitate Congressperson Indira Gandhi. Humna Rights activists from all around the globe will have to play a major role now to stop Musharraf from terrorising humanbeings in Pakistan. Indian lovers of democratic rule will have to play a major role from India to silence Musharraf as the then Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto did from Pakistan during the emergency rule in India. During those days Mr. Bhutto as a premier of Pakistan in his speeches and press conferences used to highlight the plight of the sufferrings of Indian from Indira's terror. He used to awaken the world conscience from Pakistan against Indira's emergency in India. He used to criticise Indira Ghandi and her Congress Party very severely.
By introducing emergency rule in Pakistan Gen. Musharraf proved how coward he is. He should have waited for the final verdict of Supreme Court on his election result. Instead he unceremoniously and unconstitutionally dismissed Chief Justice Chaudury trampling under his military boots constitutional delicacies. By this action he showed that he introduced emergency in Pakistan not to save the country but only to save his skin from the likely Supreme Court verdict against his continuation as President in uniform.
When I read his autobiography “In The Line Of Fire” especially chapter 18 where he humiliates Benazir Bhutto for running away from Pakistan after robbing the country of its huge resources I had very good opinion of General Musharraf as a man of upright principle. But when he allowed Benazir back home by giving her amnesty for her misdeeds I realized that this man, General Musharraf is not to be trusted. I am convinced that he is power hungry and to retain it he will do anything even by committing suicidal acts as the introduction of emergency. This is not an end. He will go on increasing and multiplying his acts of arrogance and high handedness exactly as Indira Gandhi did in 1975 in India during her emergency rule. With the support of emergency rule laws innocent persons in Pakistan will have to suffer. Decent Pakistanis opposing emergency will face the brutalities of Musharraf’s police. Intellectual class of Pakistanis will have to undergo traumatic time physically and intellectually because this class of Pakistanis will never accept “dadagiri” of one man Gen. Musharraf who thinks he is omnipotent.
I have a strong feeling that Musharraf will fail in his endeavours in attaining success in his emergency rule in Pakistan. Present day Pakistan is not what it was earlier during the regimes of Ayub, Yayah and Zia. Fire brand Imran Khan has already fired a salvo and Benazir Bhutto has already shown her disapproval to emergency and asked her party followers to oppose emergency. So also many top Pakistani leaders. Pakistan will ultimately be saved only thru civilized rule by the civilized ruler and not thru the power of bullet by the martial law. Power of bullet has failed in Pakistan because bullet begets bullet and because of this in some remote corners of Pakistan parallel governments with the power of bullet are functioning inspite of General Musharraf having full control of Pakistan. With the advent of Musharraf’s illegal rule extremism and terrorism has increased in Pakistan. May be Musharraf himself is responsible for this by clandestinely pushing the extremists and terrorists into action. An architecht of Kargil war will do nothing but only create more and more Kargils in his own land against his own people. It is useless blaming India for the ills of Pakistan. Pakistani ills are the creations of Pakistanis themselves. If India remained united today since independence it is only because of the word democracy however defective it may be but democracy alone kept the Indians united. If Pakistan was splitted yesterday it was only because of the absence of democracy in Pakistan. The millitary rule, emergency rule and martial law alone will be responsible for the further splits of Pakistan. Millitary rulers alone are responsible for all the ills in Pakistan.
I admire all the civilized countries that condemned the emergency rule in Pakistan but abjure India’s stand of not condemning emergency rule boldly in Pakistan. Will India condemn in strongest terms the introduction of martial law in Pakistan with emergency rule? I don’t think so because as long as Sonia Gandhi the Italian daughter-in-law of the late Indira Ghandi wields influence and power over the current Indian government at the centre there will not be condemnation of emergency rule in Pakistan. Sonia Gandhi was a part and parcel of Indira Ghandi’s household when her nasty mother-in-law in connivance with her late Pilot husband Rajiv Ghandi introduced and hailed emergency in India. Sonia Gandhi was a silent admirer of emergency rule in India and being so how she will accept condemnation of emergency rule in Pakistan?
Pakistan may be the country of Pakistanis spread all over the world and as such they may have more responsibility to decide their fate. Also, they may be knowing better what is good and what is bad for their country. But the lovers of democracy spread all around the globe irrespective of their nationality have got duty to support democracy and oppose emergency not only in Pakistan but anywhere in the world. Let me be a part of that segment of democracy lover in condemning emergency rule in Pakistan and opposing martial law. Pakistan may be of Pakistanis but democracy is of all including of me. For this reason I support democracy and condemn emergency.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
